Tilted Axis
by Rainy Ravenclaw
Summary: A little witch and wizard meet on the playground. Histories diverge. He is loved, she is not. Both are griffins, lions with eagle wings. Neither know upon meeting what lies in store. There is magic singing in their blood awaiting its recognition and release. In other words Dean Archer Thomas meets Lorna Euphemia Potter years ahead of schedule and the world tilts on its axis.


A/N:

I'm baaack! Well, in a limited capacity anyway. I feel like a total jerk for leaving all those dangling, unfinished stories on my profile like rooms without drywall, electricity, and furnature. They're unfinished and some are ugly to look at. For that, I apologize unreservedly. I make no promises that I'll start writing regularly again. However, I've been kicking this idea around for awhile to get back to my FanFic roots by way of a solid Harry Potter universe fanfic. Note that this chapter is a sampler more than anything. It's rather rough, written on an iPad, and I've not even spell-checked it yet. I just want to see how much you guys like the general idea. With that being said, I hope you enjoy.

Tilted Axis

Chapter One

The Shift

Like most kids in a new school Dean Thomas was nervous. He'd only been attending Little Whinging Primary for a couple of weeks and hadn't quite clicked with any of his classmates yet. Even at six years old children had their cliques and Dean didn't fit into any one of them just perfectly. He was too artsy for the sport kids, too athletic for the art kids, possessing traits that kept him in the gaps in between the clusters of children in and out of the classroom.

It was morning recess and Dean was by himself with his trusty sketch pad and a simple pencil. A sound caught his attention suddenly, an explosion of loud, boisterous laughter. He was about to return to his sketch when he heard the voice of a young girl cry out. He looked up and over in the direction of the noise. A group of boys were tightly clustered around the end of the large tunnel slide on the play structure. Dean's lips pulled down in a frown; Were they blocking somebody?

If Lorna Potter were any other kid, she might be tempted to say that this was the worst day of her life. No kid wants to get on the wrong side of bullies. However, living with a house of them, Lorna had grown used to the routine by now. Bad days blended one into the next where a good day was a special treat she seldom experienced. She didn't like the routine of bad days by any means but she was used to them and Dudley and his troop of goofs no longer surprised her upon seeking her out whenever they pleased. They had already done a fine job of keeping all kids away from her over the year they had been in primary. It was their unstated mission at recess to ensure she was having the least amount of fun possible.

Lorna had been brave that day. She'd taken a chance for once which she was already berating herself for. Nobody was going down the tunnel slide and it called to her. What would one little ride hurt? She'd be up and down in less than a minute, nobody would see her. But of course Dudley did. He and his friends had the slide bottom surrounded by the time she came out. Before she could gain her balance a hard shove from the left toppled her over. The boys laughed cruelly as she yelped involuntarily. She didn't like giving them the satisfaction of reacting but couldn't help it on the few occasions where they had caught her by surprise.

"What do you think you're doing?" Dudley demanded, getting right up close to her.

"I was... just sliding," she said timidly. She stood up slowly and brushed the wood chips off her clothes. If a single speck of them made its way into her relatives' house Lorna knew her aunt Petunia would not be pleased. Dudley and his friends laughed at her response.

"I thought we said you don't do that! You could contimnate - contemplate - make it all icky with your..." Dudley trailed off, scratching his head. He finally finished with "You're weirdness!"

"Oh do shut up! What makes me so different that I'm the only kid on the playground who can't play? It's not like I'm that boy who eats his own bogeys or the girl who..." Lorna blurted. She had stood straight and proud at first but, by the end, she began to curl in on herself. Her mind screamed 'no, no, no!' But her heart screamed 'yes.' Such a dichotomy always occurred when she talked back even though she knew she shouldn't. She trailed off at the look Dudley and his friends gave her.

"I think it's the clothes," Peers Polkiss cut in, reaching forward and tugging at Lorna's loose, threadbare shirt which had once been Dudley's.

"Or that **thing** on her forehead!" Gordon Blakeslee chortled, flicking one grimy finger at the lightning scar Lorna had had as long as she could remember.

"I think she's sick, she has spots on her face!" Malcom Landau mocked the light smattering of freckles spread over the bridge of her nose..

"She don't got no mummy or daddy," Dennis Vance pointed out.

"I think it's that hair!" Dudley smirked. With a speed belying his size he reached forward, yanking hard at one of Lorna's unruly, somewhat matted tufts of hair.

Sometimes, Dean knew, he could be too curious for his own good. The bunch of boys didn't seem like a particularly nice lot, though. He'd seen them over the last couple of weeks running around like they owned the playground, pushing around other children their age and younger. Despite not really wanting to catch their notice Dean couldn't hope but slowly approach the group. Hearing the girl cry out reminded Dean of his little sister, Emmy, and all the things his parents told him about how boys should never, ever hurt girls. As he drew closer he heard the taunts of the boys towards the girl they surrounded. His stomach twisted in a mixture of discomfort and anger. This wasn't just a group of boys mad because some girl was in their way. It was targeted, mean-spirited bullying of the worst kind. The girl cried out again as a fat blond boy, appearing as the leader of the pack, reached forward and yanked hard at her hair. Before Dean could stop himself he found himself shoving through the group of boys.

"OI!" He shouted, "You don't hurt girls! That's bad!"

"Says who?" The fat boy demanded, switching his attention from the tiny girl.

"Says me," Dean frowned.

"She's not like a real girl," the fat boy reasoned. "She's a weirdo."

"Well then if you want to look at it like that you're not a real boy, you're a pig!" Dean snapped, his temper rising. The fat boy's face grew red in anger and he swung a fist at Dean.

Lorna looked on in frozen silence at the tall, dark boy who had come seemingly out of nowhere. She didn't think she recognized him so he was either new, in another class, or both. In any case he clearly didn't know the rules - that nobody could be friends with that "loopy Lorna Potter girl" or Dudley and his gang would forcefully convince them they were better off without her. She looked on in a mixture of silent awe and fear as Dean talked back to Dudley and even called him a pig. This was an opinion Lorna had silently held for years. Her eyes widened as Dudley swung his fist at the new boy.

"Look out!" She shouted frantically. The boy was going to hate, hate, hate her if he got hurt defending the school freak. The boy was ready though, bringing forward one arm to block the blow with the sketch pad He held in his hand. Dudley made to swing again when Peers nudged at his friend and pointed to one of the playground monitors who had come too close for comfort. Though Dudley and his gang tended to get away with a lot they still preferred to be well out of sight of the adults when they pulled their usual tactics.

"You'll know soon that you're better off staying away from Potter. It's for your own good," the fat boy blustered, red in the face. Shoving past Dean he and his friends quickly vacated the premasis leaving the tall boy and small girl behind. Before Dean could ask if she was all right the tiny girl tore off in the opposite direction of the bullies, as swift and silent as a little rabbit escaping prey. Dean made to go after her but the piercing ring of the bell putt paid to those plans. He hoped he would be able to catch her at lunchtime or the next recess and make sure she was all right. He thought he might recognize her from around the playground and in music and gym where the year two classes mixed. She was, if anything, even more of an apparent misfit than Dean was with nobody wanting a thing to do with her. He didn't even know her name but he knew for sure that she could really use a friend, and so could he.

As soon as the last morning lesson had ended and it was time for lunch Dean shot out the classroom ahead of any of his classmates. All year 2 students shared a lunch with the year ones and threes so he hoped he would catch the girl there. He wanted to make sure she was all right. He was among the first in the cafeteria and didn't see her among the few students scattered about the tables. Sighing, he picked a table close to the doors and sat down with his lunch boxx.. Dean watched carefully as a mass of children entered. Finally he saw her as she slipped in after almost everybody else. Nervous but hopeful he tried to catch her eye and wave her over.

Lorna sighed in mild disappointment as class ended and the lunch bell rang. She had very little to eat, a meager cheese sandwhich and a bruised apple, but they were better than nothing which was what she often recieved from her aunt in the morning. Fortunately the cafeteria was relatively safe from Dudley and his lot as it crawled with lunch ladies, the cashier, and the lunch monitors. Fortunately, unlike some other mornings, Dudley had not been given the opportunity to take her lunch out of spite.

As she entered the cafeteria she looked around for a quiet, out of the way place to sit and eat. Something suddenly caught her eye, though, a dark hand waving from a table near the door. It was that boy from earlier who had stood up for her and driven off Dudley and his goons. Lorna didn't know what to think. Most kids who were nice to her weren't nice for long. Even so, nobody had stepped up for her like that. Her head cautioned her that trying to make friends had only ever ended in pain for her. Her heart, however, yearned to give the boy a chance. Feeling torn inside, she cautiously approached the boy and sat across from him.

"You okay," were the first words out of his mouth. Lorna blinked, baffled. It was as though the whole world shook. Nobody, not her aunt, not her teachers, not even batty old Mrs. Figg had ever asked her that.

"I... I'm fine," she said at length after unpacking her meager lunch. "I-I'm sorry Dudley hit at you."

"He's just a bully," Dean said dismissively. The small girl shuffled uncomfortably. Dean, getting the idea that the subject was making her uncomfortable, endeavored to change it. He wanted to be her friend, not to push her away.

"I'm Dean Thomas, by the way. It's nice to meet you," he said, extending his hand.

"N-nice to meet you too. I'm Lorna," Despite her head screaming at her that this route would lead to trouble she tentatively took his hand and they shook briefly.

"That's not much lunch," Dean said as Lorna bit into her apple. The girl's eyes widened, her body tensed. Hastily swallowing she responded with a hastily conjured lie.

"My aunt didn't have a lot of time to make my lunch this morning," Dean, she thought, didn't need to know the food-related rules of the Dursley house just yet, namely that she was only allowed lefftovers and scraps.

"Oh. Well... Mum always packs me too much," he pointed to two halves of a thick ham and cheese sandwhich, a banana, a ziplock bag with two chocolate-chip biscuits, a bag of crisps, and a carton of juice. "Want some?"

"No!" Lorna almost shouted, tensing again as if to bolt. "I mean... that's your lunch."

"It's okay," Dean said. "WE can share lunches then. Your cheese sandwich looks good. I'll give you half of mine if I can have half of yours? I don't need two biscuits either, you can have one."

"But..." Lorna trailed off. She knew that her cheese sandwich was horrid with one thin piece of cheese and week-old bread.

"Pleeeaaase?" Dean begged, dark eyes widening. "I'm a bit tired of ham cheese anyway."

"Oh..." Lorna responded. Looking furtively around the room she saw that Dudley and his crew were across the room and too busy in their own little universe laughing and throwing bits of food at one another. Hesitantly she slipped the second half of her sandwhich over to Dean. Grinning, the boy handed her half of his sandwhich and one biscuit in return. Immediately Dean started eating the sad half of Lorna's sandwhich with a smile on his face. Lorna thought that Dean's sandwhich was the best she'd ever had. They ate in silence for a time.

"So what class do you like best?" Dean asked at length as he tore into his bag of crisps. Lorna started slightly and looked towards him. She chewed thoughtfully on the last of the chocolate-chip biscuit, savouring it. It was the first she'd ever had and she thought it was wonderful.

"Well," she said softly, "I like Language Arts. Maths too, I guess. Music is brilliant, though. You?"

"That's cool. I like gym class and social studies. Art's my favorite, though. I love to draw and paint and stuff," Dean said with a wide grin. Lorna shyly smiled back. Before she could say anything more, though, the bell rang and it was time for recess once again.

"Wait," Dean called as she made to stand up and dart away. He hastened to follow her. "Wanna play or something?"

"Th-they won't like it," Lorna said as she threw away her rubbish.

"Who? That toe-headed pig and his barnyard companions?" Dean asked with a frown as they slowly walked towards the exit. Most of the other children, including Dudley and friends, had already made it outside. "Why should you care what they think?"

"Well... Dudley's my cousin, see," Lorna tried to justify.

"That makes it worse!" Dean exploded, wrenching the door open with more than necessary force. Lorna jumped. "Family can't bully family! His parents put up with it? What about yours, haven't you told them?"

"M-my..." Lorna hunched in on herself and turned away, "They're dead, my parents I mean. I live with my aunt, uncle, and Dudley."

"Oh..." This time it was Dean's turn to hesitate. "I-I'm sorry, Lorna."

"Why?" Lorna asked, baffled.

"'Cause I... I mean I thought you had them and acted like you did and... it can't be fun living with piglet all the time," Dean said, attempting to gather his thoughts into words. Despite herself Lorna giggled.

"Not really," she admitted softly.

"Well then let's make up for that! C'mon, let's play!" Dean urged her, reaching his hand out. Lorna bit her lip. She still had reservations, of course. However, she'd never experienced anybody being so genuinely nice. Dean didn't frown at her or call the things she said stupid. Perhaps, she thought with a ray of hope, they really could be friends.

"Okay," Lorna said at length, taking Dean's hand. The boy cheered and rushed off towards the swings, his new friend right behind him.


End file.
